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St. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Crowds of reveling Republicans partied to a fantasy theme at their GOP convention host party at Tropicana Field along the bay’s western edge, where harem belly dancers, live flamingos, Scottish nobles in tartans, Roman soldiers, pirates, and clowns on stilts cavorted with the crowd of thousands.

The party crowded to take pictures with their smart phone as characters from Busch Gardens — the nearby amusement park — threw out Mardi Gras style beads to attendees.

And then there was the menu: GOP faithful dined on vats of paella, chicken and mango salad, whole roast pig with a variety of barbecue sauces, and sandwiches.

(Media got better fare upstairs in their own bar, with coconut shrimp, fried brie, and quesadillas.)
Republicans also crowded what seemed like hundreds of open bars pouring rivers of wine, beer, and Bacardi rum drinks in red, white and blue.

Entertainment included 70s-heavy dance hits (ABBA), salsa dancers, deafeningly loud rock and roll and Shannon Magrane from “American Idol,” who had the unenviable job of singing to a crowd more interested in lining up for make-your-own-nachos. More high octane oldies came later, including one montage that began with Guns N’ Roses Welcome to the Jungle but morphed into an apple pie vocal version of the Pledge of Allegiance.

New York’s delegates danced with the best of ‘em. Rep. Bob Turner, R-Queens, said it was a welcome change of pace to be totally incognito in shorts and a polo shirt. (He isn’t seeking re-election to the House of Representatives, and lost in a three-way Senate primary to be his party’s nominee against Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-Brunswick.)

He walked out with his wife, bumping into Albany County Republican Chairman Don Clarey — who was as impressed with the party’s venue as any of its fare.

“The coolest thing for me was standing where Carl Crawford stood playing left field,” he said.

“The pulled pork was good, too,” said Turner.

Indeed, there were whole pigs roasting on buffet tables set up a few steps beyond Crawford’s range, in the dirt where you’d normally find a second basemen or a shortstop. Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro was in the home team dugout with some of his longtime aides. The 36-year-old is something of a political wunderkind — he was first elected mayor of the village of Tivoli at 19, but was thrilled to be at his first national convention. He made sure to snap pictures in the dugout, because the Hudson Valley Renegades are part of the farm system that feeds the Tampa Bay Rays.

How does Tampa rate? Well, maybe it didn’t compare to other GOP conventions — such as San Diego, where Wolfgang Puck personally waited on delegate with caviar blini in hand — but the evening’s not over. And the Bacardi is just beginning to flow.

“This was on my bucket list,” said Jan Plumadore, a retired judge from Saranac Lake attending his first convention. “I never thought I would be standing with 20,000 of my closest friends. It was kind of a shock. I never expected there to be anything quite like this.

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Capitol Confidential gathers the best coverage of New York politics and puts it all together. Each section - Capitol, The State Worker, New York on the Potomac, and Voices - represents a unique facet of the political scene. The Capitol section features coverage from the Times Union Capitol bureau. The State Worker is dedicated to state worker issues. New York on the Potomac offers news of interest to New Yorkers from Washington. And Voices features the best of everything else, pointing you to columnists and bloggers from across the Web.